Karl Wallinger, the Welsh-born frontman of World Party and early member of the Waterboys, passed away, as confirmed by his publicist. Though no cause of death was disclosed, Wallinger had suffered a brain aneurysm in 2001, which temporarily halted his career.
He was 66 years old. In 1986, Wallinger founded World Party shortly after departing from the Waterboys. He recorded the group’s debut album, “Private Revolution,” mostly on his own at home.
The album, released in 1987, was a surprising success, yielding the hit single “Ship of Fools.” World Party continued to tour and release four more albums until 2000, achieving further hits with tracks like “Put The Message In the Box” and “Is It Like Today?”
Despite Wallinger’s health setback, the group resumed activity in 2006 and toured until 2015. Wallinger mentioned in a 2022 interview that World Party had reunited and was preparing for more touring.
Born in Wales in 1957, Wallinger initially began his career as a keyboardist with various bands and briefly served as the musical director for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in London. Mike Scott, leader of the Waterboys, paid tribute to Wallinger, describing him as “one of the finest musicians I’ve ever known.”
After leaving the Waterboys to form World Party, Wallinger collaborated with labelmate Sinead O’Connor on her debut album, “The Lion and the Cobra,” with O’Connor providing backing vocals on World Party’s initial two albums.
